A Real Pokedex that Scans Plush Pokémon has Shaken the Internet
Pokémon content creator BigRig Creates brought a real-life working Pokedex to the Pokémon XP event, held concurrently with the 2026 Pokémon World Championships. The device, demonstrated at the San Francisco event, correctly identified a Heatmor plush held in front of it within seconds, displayed the Pokémon’s image on the screen, and then began reading the relevant Pokedex information in a robotic voice. A video of the demonstration quickly went viral on social media, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
The device can recognize Pokedex Plushies, Cards, and Drawings
The device was developed through a collaboration between BigRig Creates and YouTuber Mr. Volt. BigRig handled the software, while Mr. Volt designed the hardware and physical body. The main screen and camera system are powered by a Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4; additional screens, buttons, and other system information are handled by an ESP32 development board and a Raspberry Pi Pico.
The Pokedex’s working system is also quite interesting. The device takes a picture of the object in front of it and, unlike Google’s system which uses generative AI, it uses a visual search system to try to determine which Pokémon you’re looking at. Then it retrieves the necessary information from the Pokémon Database and displays species, attacks, evolutions, locations, and Pokedex records from different games.
Demonstrations show that the system can recognize not only plush toys, but also Pokémon cards, figures, fan art, and even rough sketches. It’s stated that when the project was created, the database contained all 1,025 Pokémon available at the time. The device’s robotic voice, reminiscent of the anime, isn’t directly taken from the series; BigRig created his own voice by filtering it through three different filters.
Following the release of the video of the real Pokedex, many users began asking when the device would be released. However, the developers haven’t yet announced a commercial version. The project remains a one-off, unofficial fan creation. Nevertheless, it has managed to convincingly bring to life the Pokedex concept that Pokémon fans have dreamed of for years.
Read More: PlayStation Blackout Backfired, PS5 Pro Stocks Sold Out
